OREANDA-NEWS  Fuel trading operators at automobile filling stations (gas stations) have become profitable again. This is reported by Kommersant with reference to a Petromarket study.

In March, the net margin for the sale of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline increased 2.4 and 1.8 times, to 6 and 7 rubles, respectively. At the end of last year, these figures were 2.5 and 3.8 rubles. At the same time, the net margin for diesel fuel sales reached 5.8 rubles per liter instead of 0.6.

The increase in margins is explained by a reduction in small wholesale prices at which gas stations purchase fuel from tank farms. This trend was formed due to the high margin of fuel trading at oil depots at the end of 2024, which, according to Reuters, was at one of the highest levels in recent years in March.

In 2024, the benefits of trading premium gasoline in the Russian Federation, the profitability of AI-95 sales at gas stations, went into negative territory for up to several months. In July, it was minus 1.2 rubles per liter, in September it was minus 4.2 rubles per liter. The situation was explained by rising wholesale prices and uneven growth in fuel demand.

In August 2024, dozens of Russian regions reported problems with fuel shortages, and farmers who were completing the harvesting campaign and sowing winter crops were the most concerned. In September, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dmitry Patrushev, warned that if the situation was not fixed as soon as possible, it could lead to a disaster in agriculture.